Contents

Plot

Tori and Jade portray a married couple in one of Sikowitz's plays, a task that challenges their acting skills and their friendship. However, Sikowitz isn't satisfied with the believability of Tori and Jade being in love. Trying to help them play the role better, he forces them to go on a "date" at a sushi place, Nozu, together, but while there, two random boys constantly flirt with them and annoy them. The boys ask Tori and Jade to sing a song, so to get them to back off, they perform the song Take A Hint. Tori and Jade do so well performing together, that they are able to play their part well. Unfortunately, the boys from Nozu follow them there, and they have to run away.

Subplot

Sikowitz asked Cat and Robbie to give his neighbor, Tanner, bad news as sweetly as possible, so they sing it to him. Afterwards, students ask Cat and Robbie to sing bad news songs to people to break them bad news without making them too sad. Even though it worked for Tanner, Beck, and another kid, it didn't work for Trina, who smashes Robbie's guitar when he and Cat tell her that her date was standing her up.

Trivia

The season 2 opening is used in UK airings. Also it was premiered to 5.078 million views in the UK, more than the US viewers.

This is one of the rare times that a background actor confirms an episode before Dan, Nickelodeon, or the cast members mention it.

This is the episode in which Tori and Jade perform Take A Hint, which is the first Jori duet. This is also the episode that features the first Cabbie duet(s).

This is the first time that Jade has been/seen in Nozu.

This is the only episode so far where Sikowitz, Sinjin and Burf have been in Nozu.

This is the second time Tori and Jade play a married couple, although this seems to be more challenging acting-wise than their first attempt (during one of Sikowitz's acting exercises in Helen Back Again).

This marks the first school play shown in season 3.

This episode continues the series running gag of Jade yelling "NO!" when people are annoying her and Jade saying "OH" in a deep meaningful tone (the latter of which Tori mocks at one point during the episode).

"Tori and Jade Should Date" trended on Twitter after the episode premiered.

This is the second time Lane appears in Season 3 (although he has no lines, he is in the audience at the end, unless you count the deleted scene), the first one being in The Worst Couple.

This is the first time Robbie has sung in season 3.

This is the episode with the largest number of duets sung.

Dan Schneider confirmed on Twitter that he wrote some of the songs Cat and Robbie sing during the episode.

The song that Robbie and Cat sing to Beck, it sounds like modified version of Tommy Tutone's classic "Jenny - 867-5309".

There are two (known) deleted scenes from this episode that have been posted on TheSlap.

There was a deleted scene where Tori sits on Jade's chair and where Robbie pees a little. It was posted on TheSlap.

There is also another deleted scene where Robbie and Cat sing a song telling a boy he is expelled for Lane. This scene appears to have been cut early on in post-production, as it is of worse quality than the above scene. Although as a bonus end scene during the credits this is shown.

This episode marks the first time we see Tori wearing a watch.

The characters Tori and Jade are portraying in the play are named Nancy and Walter. Many believe that these were the names of characters from Dan's previous show 'Drake & Josh', but actually only Walter was the name of a character from that show. Nancy was the name of the actress playing the character Audrey.

This is the second time Victoria Justice dresses up as a boy/man in one of Dan Schneiders shows. First was in the Zoey 101 Season 2 episode, 'Girls Will Be Boys'.

Chad wears a shirt that says "England's Screaming" on the front. This is a band from Northeastern England who play new wave/punk music from the late-seventies.

This is the first episode since The Breakfast Bunch to reach the top 10 on the overall charts on iTunes and not just make #1 on Kids, peaking at #5.

During the classroom scene, there is a list of tips on Sikowitz's whiteboard:

Only drink water that is room temperature or warm, cold water will restrict your vocal cords.

Sip hot water and lemon between scenes.

Support you voice by using your diaphragm, not your throat, to control your breath and vocal cords.

In between shows, keep your jaw loose. Bette Davis used to walk around her apartment with a cork held loosely between her upper and lower front teeth. Try it, it works!

There is also a quote by J. Cameron: "Magic doesn't come from the director's mind, but from the heart of the actors."

Sikowitz scaring Tori, and Tori saying, "I hate when you do that." could be an reference to Dan Schneider's own habit of scaring his actors and posting the videos on YouTube.

A scene from the updated Season 3 Opening Credits had a scene from this episode but was another take when Tori and Jade are bowing. You could clearly see their facial expresions and body-movements and timing are different from the take they kept for the episode.

This is the first time that we hear Jade say something nice about Tori. We also hear them sing a duet together.

Goofs

When Sikowitz is telling the girls about their date, you can see their glasses on the counter. After he introduces Burf, the glasses are missing, then reappear in a later shot.

In class, when Cat and Robbie are about to tell bad news for the first time, the camera shows Rex in the background, the camera cuts back and Rex moves positions.

When the girls are at Nozu and they try to start talking to each other, the spoon Tori was using to eat her soup disappears, then it reappears again.

Robbie was said to have wet himself enough to make Rex's leg damp, but his pants were completely dry.

After Trina breaks Robbie's guitar, captions says that she said "later," but she does not say anything.

When Tori and Jade sing "You'd be here and I'd be on a yacht, oh", in one shot, the guy who works at Nozu is facing the table and in the next shot, he is facing Tori and Jade with no time for him to turn around.

In the first few scenes, Jade has green highlights, but when they are rehearsing for the play (and for the rest of the episode) Jade has blue highlights. However, in the next episode her highlights are green again. She could changed it before the play started.

Jade might have switched highlights though.

In this episode, Trina was talking on the phone with her grandmother. However, in Jade Dumps Beck, Tori says her grandmother is dead.

Trina could have been talking to her other grandmother.

When Trina smashed Robbie's guitar, you can tell it's cardboard.

The opening credits for this episode are the opening credits for season 2– not season 3.

Running gags

Cat and Robbie were singing bad news to people.

Burf eating a bell pepper.

The boys coming to the girls.

The fact that André and Beck are supposedly 'identical twins'.

Quotes

Robbie: This kind of news is always hard to tell someone.Cat: And we really hope it doesn't break your heart.Robbie: But somebody ran.Cat: Yeah somebody ran.Robbie: A woman or a man.Cat: Maybe in a van.Cat and Robbie: But somebody ran over your go-cart!Robbie: (singing stops) And it got crushed!!!Cat: It's unfixable!!!

André: (pulls a card out of a box) Tommy. Ten year old identical twin brother of Carter.Sikowitz: (imitates car noise) Beck. Pick a role.Beck: Carter. Ten year old identical twin brother of Tommy. (looks at André)
I guess we're twins.André: Then Momma's got some explaining to do.

André: Eh, Sikowitz, I think I just heard something movin' there with the go-cart parts. (A raccoon climbs out of the box with the go-cart parts) Sikowitz: I knew it!

Robbie: Hey, Mr. Beck...Cat: Your life's going swell.Robbie: Now here's some news...Cat: That's not so fun to tell.Cat & Robbie: Ohhhhh...Robbie: Now, André would like to thank you for the use of your car...Cat: But something icky happened and it's kind of bizarre...
Robbie: His grandmother peed in a clear plastic cup.
Cat: André put it in the car then he started it up.
Robbie & Cat: Now...comes...the bad part.
Cat: He was on his way to the doctor and he took a sharp turn...
Robbie: The cup fell over and spilled all the urine.
Cat: 64 plus 9 equals 73.
Robbie: But please don't feel bad now that your car smells like pee.Cat & Robbie: 'Cause you're still good-looking!

(While jumping up and down)Cat: This is so fun!Robbie: Yeah, maybe we should make out sometimeCat: Robbie, you're so gross! (Pinches Robbie's cheeks and runs away laughing).

Sikowitz: Listen. I once did a show where I had to play a man in great pain. So, to prepare, I threw myself down a flight of stairs. You wouldn't believe how many times I hit my head.Jade: Yeah, we would.Tori: We really, really would.